Hail Mary effort? Oakland Raiders fans continue fight to keep team

(Click here, if you are unable to view this photo gallery on your mobile device.)

OAKLAND — As the Las Vegas-bound Raiders play their final seasons in Oakland, fans and elected officials who bleed the team’s Silver and Black warned the NFL that leaving town may end up costing the league some green.

At a news conference Tuesday, a fan group called "We Stand With Oakland" said it has been contacted by unnamed law firms prepared to file legal action against the team and the NFL, in an effort to either keep the Raiders, get an expansion franchise or, if the team leaves, demand the league pay off the outstanding debt at the Coliseum.

Raymond Bobbitt, who has led the group’s so-far unsuccessful efforts to stop the Raiders from leaving Oakland for a second time, said his organization has heard from multiple law firms since a judge in Missouri made a ruling in December in favor of St. Louis officials suing the Rams for relocating to Los Angeles.

Advertisement

Bobbitt said the court decision could help the effort to keep the Raiders in Oakland. The lawsuit by St. Louis, its county and the local stadium authority there accused the league and Rams owner, Stan Kroenke, of fraud and breach of contract for the team’s 2016 move west. The suit is moving forward after a judge denied motions by the franchise and NFL to dismiss the case.

"Now we are not just speculating, we have a court that’s measuring whether or not the constitution of the NFL is an agreement between the fans and the team," Bobbitt said.

Officials including Mayor Libby Schaaf and the Coliseum authority board have not expressed interest in fighting the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas, which is scheduled to begin in 2020. But on Tuesday, Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, Oakland Councilman Noel Gallo and state Assemblyman Rob Bonta of Oakland stood alongside Bobbitt and Griz Jones, the founder of Make Oakland Better who is known for his tailgate parties on 66th Avenue. Bobbitt and Jones, both diehard fans, called for the East Bay to retain the Raiders’ name and colors.

Gallo, who represents the Fruitvale District, said the NFL should pay the $83 million in outstanding debt owed from extensive renovations made to the Coliseum in 1996 to lure the team back from Los Angeles. Under the deal with the Coliseum authority, the cost of renovations were to be paid with revenue from the sale of personal seat licenses, and the team was not obligated to pay the debt. The city and county are also in a battle with the Golden State Warriors over some $55 million in debt owed from renovations at Oracle Arena, which team officials have said should not be paid once they move to a new arena in San Francisco.

"No sports team or franchise or the NFL should be allowed to take advantage of its community," Gallo said. "As public officials, we must protect our taxpayers and citizens."

Miley, who is chairman of the Coliseum authority, said law firms have also approached him and Alameda County to discuss legal action. The stadium authority last year decided not to back the fan group’s effort because it was unclear if any law firm would challenge the team’s relocation without costing city and county taxpayers.

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors was discussing the matter in closed session Tuesday.

Bobbitt declined to say what firms are interested in representing Oakland fans but said they are willing to work on contingency.

"Law firms are willing to come in and take this case at no risk to taxpayers," he said. "We thought it was very important the public knew that was the scenario."